By Nadra Rahman
March 22, 2019
To give rural communities more leverage in the decisions that affect their lands, Liberian NGO Green Advocates has been using OpenLandContracts.org to deepen understanding of land contracts and empower rights holders to participate in decision-making.
By Ayesha Audu
December 18, 2018
A recent project by the Business & Human Rights Resource Center shows how OpenLandContracts.org can be used to strengthen advocacy around corporate accountability and good governance of natural resources.
December 8, 2018
In this alumni profile, Marcela Chaves, Advisor to the Land and Sustainable Livelihoods Program at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and a 2018 Executive Training alumnus, highlights the importance of meaningfully engaging with all stakeholders to promote responsible investments in agriculture and improved livelihoods for rural communities.
In this alumni profile we feature Marian Amissah-Ocran Harrison, a Women’s Empowerment Programme Coordinator at the Initiative for Gender Equality and Development in Africa (IGED-Africa) and an alumnus of the 2017 CCSI Executive Training on Sustainable Investment in Agriculture. Marian discusses her legal, policy, and advocacy work on women’s economic empowerment and land rights, including her advocacy for the ground-breaking Resolution on Women’s Rights to Land and Other Productive Resources.
International investment law, based primarily on international investment treaties, plays an important role in the governance of investment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. The obligations established by these treaties, and enforced by means of investor–state arbitration, can present challenges for policy-makers and others seeking to ensure that investments are sustainable, including by affecting the ways… read more
Date: September 24, 2018, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Philanthropy New York, 1500 Broadway, 7th Fl, Central Park Room
By Sam Szoke-Burke
September 10, 2018
Would you sign a lease that gave your landlord “sole discretion” in deciding on how any disputes you have with them would be resolved? Would you spend months or years negotiating a contract only to have it include a clause saying it is not legally enforceable? These are the sorts of alarming features that we have seen in agreements between communities and investors seeking to community lands and resources. They were also one factor behind CCSI’s and Namati’s decision to develop new guides to help communities understand their rights and avoid exploitative agreements.
By Téodyl Nkuintchua, Sam Szoke-Burke, and Horline Njike
August 29, 2018
Cameroon’s new code on transparency and good governance promises to remove the shroud of secrecy that has hovered over contracts the government has signed with natural resource investors. It should also require the publication of investor-state contracts for agriculture and forestry projects. Everything appears to be lined up for Cameroon to advance on land contract transparency; here’s how the government can fulfill this promise.
In this alumni profile, we feature Leah Mugehera Khasoha, Women’s Land Rights Program Officer with Oxfam International and an alumnus of the 2017 CCSI Executive Training on Sustainable Investment in Agriculture. Leah discusses the barriers women face in relation to land ownership, and the importance of transparency around land investments.
Une description en français est ci-dessous. Deciding whether or not to allow an investor to use community lands and natural resources is one of the most important decisions a community can make. If an investment project is carried out in a respectful and inclusive way, it may help community members to achieve their development goals,… read more